Corr family thanks St. E's workers who tried to save officer

ROCCO LaDUCA

Thursday

Jan 28, 2010 at 12:01 AMJan 28, 2010 at 10:30 PM

AmCare Ambulance paramedic Joseph Jennings recently was filling out paperwork in a new EMS room at St. Elizabeth Medical Center when he looked up and saw a smiling picture of slain New Hartford police Officer Joseph Corr.

As Jennings realized he was sitting in a room with a plaque the fallen officer's family presented to the hospital's staff Thursday, it brought back a swirl of sad memories from the night he and other emergency crews tried to save Corr’s life on Feb. 27, 2006.

AmCare Ambulance paramedic Joseph Jennings recently was filling out paperwork in a new EMS room at St. Elizabeth Medical Center when he looked up and saw a smiling picture of slain New Hartford police Officer Joseph Corr.

As Jennings realized he was sitting in a room with a plaque the fallen officer's family presented to the hospital's staff Thursday, it brought back a swirl of sad memories from the night he and other emergency crews tried to save Corr’s life on Feb. 27, 2006.

Jennings, who worked for Edwards Ambulance Services at the time, remembered the 911 call of an officer being shot that night, and then seeing the uniformed body lying in the ambulance. He also remembered the moment his eyes turned to Corr’s lifeless face.

“My stomach was up in my throat,” Jennings said Thursday from the emergency room at the hospital. “It wasn’t clicking at first that it was a police officer, but then I stepped into the ambulance and got the visual.”

It wasn’t long before Jennings realized that Corr was gone, having been shot once while chasing a robbery suspect behind the Byrne Dairy in Kirkland after a nearby jewelry store was held up.

Still, Jennings’ instinct kicked in to do what needed to be done.

“I knew it was a fatal injury, but I didn’t give up anyway,” Jennings said.

It was that persistence by paramedics and St. Elizabeth medical staff that Corr’s parents, Kathy and David Corr, wanted to recognize Thursday morning by dedicating a new EMS room in their honor.

“I thank you all from the bottom of my heart for all that everyone tried to do for him,” Kathy Corr said as she and her husband unveiled a plaque to be hung outside the room. It is the same room where firefighters and paramedics often sit to complete paperwork after delivering a patient to the emergency room.

Hanging on the wall in the small room is the smiling picture of Corr, as well as a collage of photographs from the day of Corr’s funeral. Students from the New Hartford High School art class also will paint a mural on the wall honoring emergency responders.

During the morning’s unveiling ceremony, the Corrs also recognized Darlene Humphrey, a registered nurse who had to cope with her own emotions while trying to save Corr’s life.

“I couldn’t accept that it was over,” said Humphrey, who continued her life-saving efforts after it became apparent that her friend of 15 years wasn’t going to survive.

Dr. John Rubin, and ER physician who also cared for Corr when he was brought in, thanked the Corr family for dedicating the EMS room in Corr’s memory.

“I will never forget that night,” Rubin said. “When you walk into this room, it will make everyone think of who Joe was and all that was taken from us.”

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